Friday, December 31, 2010

On 27-Dec-2010, my age added another number to 28. Yeah. 28 now. Anyway, some says age is just a number. Well, I partly agreed, because I don't really feel 1 year older on my birthday, however, some white hairs were found on my head from time to time. adeh. so I'm really getting older, am I?

My birthday this year was really full of blessings, with cup cakes, lovely presents from my fiancee and my brother, lots of wishes especially from family and friends. Not forgetting a chocolate cake 2 days before my birthday from my brother.

For me, I pray to the Al-Mighty Allah swt that this coming years will be better from the previous in any ways, not only for myself but for also my future wife Habibah, our family and our friends. May Allah swt always guide us toward the righteous path. InsyaAllah.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Since the good news, my weekends have been so blissful and eventful. Instead of previously just look forward to hiking (broga) or watching DVD (alone) at home, right now, it is far more exciting to wait for every weekend to come. why? simple. because I can see my fiancee during weekend! think it is not enough to make me feel blissful? think again. (ceh, mcm NatGeo punye iklan).

Last 2 weekends were really happening! 10.10.2010 was my sister's (only sister) birthday, we did a small celebration but yet meriah (click here for detail story and also here).

And last weekend, I visited a place I never been before, my fiancee workplace (she works nearby this town). One of her best friend organized a small gather-together with friends and 'family'. Really feel welcomed to this family. Thanks to the organizer. It was nice to meet all of you. Me and my fiancee went to Kuantan to buy some stuff as a part of our wedding preparation. The seafood at Tanjung Lumpur was great, reminded me some good seafood when I was back in Penang. Thanks to my fiancee for showing me around Kuantan.

Alhamdulillah, I thank God for giving me opportunity to have this far better life right now. May Allah always shine His blessings upon all of us. Semoga Allah mempermudahkan segala urusan kita. Ameen.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Alhamdulillah. Thank You Allah. All Praises to Allah.These are the words that can describe how thankful I am to Almighty Allah swt.

It was out of a sudden, that the feeling of very confident appeared and without any further waiting I proposed her. Although the place was a little bit unsuitable (sorry), but she confidently accepted without thinking twice. (click here to read her side of the story)

Now that the road has been paved, we just have to walk towards the stage together. May Allah gives His Blessings upon both of us, in this life that we gonna paint the future together.

With that, please free up your schedule during this coming Chinese New Year. We would love to see you on our big day!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Tomorrow will be the 1st day of Ramadhan, that means tonight will be the 1st night of Terawih. That also means tomorrow will be the 1st day of fasting.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Ramadhan Mubarak to all of you. Take this opportunity to improve our life not only in terms of Ibadah but also in all other aspects. Increase productivity, spending more time with family/friends during dinner/iftar and performing solat, qiamullail, giving sadaqah, and all other positive activities you can think of.

Remember, one of the big reason Ummah of Muhammad (saw) is blessed with Ramadhan is because our life is shorter than the previous ummah. Do as much as you can because you might not be able to live during the next Ramadhan. Wallahu'alam.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Last Sunday after I came down from Broga Hill, I suddenly recalled that a friend said there is a nice waterfall nearby there. So, all of a sudden, I decided to try take a look the place .. though my stomach is kinda hungry already actually. Look at my watch, it was already 10 am.

I went there anyway thinking of there might be good breakfast overthere.. after driving ~14km from Semenyih, I reached there. The place called Sungai Tekala, the entrance fee is RM1 for adult and RM0.50 for kids (12-year-old and below).

In summary, this place is good for recreation. Suitable for mandi-manda, BBQ and camping as well. If you just wanna take a walk in the evening also I think it is a good idea as well .. There are few levels of waterfall you can try, but for those bringing kids, I would suggest you stay low. The higher you go, the higher the risk. The stones are more slippery on the higher level areas, thus adults as well must be really consciously aware of the surrounding.

It is not wrong to enjoy and be happy, but we want the continuous happiness, not the temporary one. Thus, be careful and enjoyyy!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Last Sunday I decided to put my zoom lens on and brought my camera uphill to the peak of Broga. Reason is .. to shoot people faces at Broga Hill. This time I went there alone and thus the following faces were completely strangers to me .. most of these photos were shot at least 5 meters away, some were farther away, about 30-50 meters (anyway I was using zoom lens which equivalent to 17x zoom! - Nikkor 70-300mm)

By doing this, I'm capturing moment of the people there, some are with the groups, some are alone, some are with their spouse or partner, some are with the small and big cameras, not forgetting, those who brings food for breakfast there, so many people, so many style and faces, with 1 goal, getting out of the work and working out on the body and mind. :)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Last weekend I spent 2 consecutive mornings with my friend. On Saturday was with my long lost friend, used to be my university-mate, housemate and makan2-mate back in Penang .. Imad. And on Sunday was with with my best friend who just get married but need to be separated for awhile with his wife due to further study .. Specky.

Maybe many of you were asking, isn't that so boring, dull and static to just climb up Broga almost every weekend? Well for me, I found new things every time I hike there. Sometime the grass is not sooo green, sometimes its yellowish. Sometimes the wind is sooo strong, sometimes no wind at all. Not mentioning the different faces I saw every time I hike (or maybe I'm not that good in remembering faces as well) ..

However, I realize, there is single thing in common, that is .. every body seems happy up there. Like leaving all the problems at home and climb up without any burden in the head. Everybody talking to each other, joking, laughing, having breakfast .. so happening, so happy. Well, I think this is a very healthy culture. Once a week or once a month, you gotta find a place that can help you to forget all the problems and issues, at least for few hours. Only then, you will get momentum to look at the problems again.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

I heard this song on Radio24 while driving the other day. I search in the YouTube and found this new revamp song after the original was dedicated to Africa 25 years ago.. and this time is dedicated for Haiti.. to help to gather fund relief for the people there.

For me, the message is clear. We, as human being, should always help each other no matter what color our skin is, what language we speak, what food we take and which continent we stay. Humanity doesn't depend on all this. Enjoy this song and remember, when we have something to eat, ponder to others who are struggling to even have some food and drinks.

Lyrics:There comes a time When we head a certain call When the world must come together as one There are people dying And it's time to lend a hand to life The greatest gift of all

We can't go on Pretending day by day That someone, somewhere will soon make a change We are all a part of God's great big family And the truth, you know love is all we need

[Chorus] We are the world We are the children We are the ones who make a brighter day So let's start giving There's a choice we're making We're saving our own lives It's true we'll make a better day Just you and me

Send them your heart So they'll know that someone cares And their lives will be stronger and free As God has shown us by turning stone to bread So we all must lend a helping hand

[Chorus] We are the world We are the children We are the ones who make a brighter day So let's start giving There's a choice we're making We're saving our own lives It's true we'll make a better day Just you and me

When you're down and out There seems no hope at all But if you just believe There's no way we can fall Well, well, well, well, let us realize That a change will only come When we stand together as one

[Chorus] We are the world We are the children We are the ones who make a brighter day So let's start giving There's a choice we're making We're saving our own lives It's true we'll make a better day Just you and me

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Let us think and look around, at this moment around the world, there are cycle of life happening, whether we want it to happen or we don't want. Whether we like it to happen or we don't like.

At this moment..Babies are born, new life begins,But, there are people facing death, life ended.

At this moment..There are people recovering from sickness, life is moving,But, there are people falling sick, life is stuck.

At this moment..There are happy faces, life is being cherished,But, there are sad faces, life is being challenged.

At this moment..There are people become millionaire, being at the top,But, there people facing Chapter 11, bankruptcy, being at the bottom.

At this moment..Scientists discover something new and useful,But, there are people abusing the technology.

At this moment..Somebody get promoted, life is blossoms,But, there are people get retrenched, life is hard.

At this moment..A girl fall in love with a guy, life is so beautiful,But, there is a girl leaving a guy, life shrouded by darkness.

At this moment..Couples get married, starting new life together,But, there are couples filing for divorce, ending life together.

At this moment..Kids are running, playing in the garden happily,But, there are kids are being used as slave.

At this moment..There are people wondering and thinking of the future,But, there are people still being carried away with the present and the past.

Truth is, nobody can stop the cycle of life. Nevertheless, we shouldn't give up in this life. Sadness, sorrowful, frustrated are just being part of life, but we still have time to wake up and raise up. The true success is not that when we never fail, but when we successfully raise up from the failure.

The only way to sustain at the top is to always ponder and look at the people below. Be grateful everyday, and you will get more.

"If you ignore the past, you jeopardize the future." [The Clone Wars, S02E12]

Sunday, February 21, 2010

People felt so down because they can't achieve this and that. Feeling that they were struggling and working so hard but the result was not as expected. Well, that is the reality of life. There will always be ups and downs that need to be realized. At the bottom point of our life, we might feel that we are the only loser in this whole world, but wait a moment..

Look around us ..

People are struggling with their everyday life. Some people struggling to get some food and shelter. Some are fighting for freedom, education. Some are struggling for power, others struggling for more money.

At the other side, some are struggling to lose weight after excessive food they ate. Some are struggling with the lawsuit for abuse of power and money. Everybody around us are struggling with their life.

Ultimately, these struggles in life .. would it make our life better? would it make our life happier? could it bring love into our heart? or we would even see more hatred and misunderstanding because of these struggles?

Well again, this is the reality of life. We are not living in the heaven. At least not yet. Heaven is not only a place where everything is in order, beautiful and peaceful, but heaven can start from a tranquil heart.

Thus, to achieve heaven, we must start from our heart. Ask ourselves, whether we are happy in whatever we are doing. How could we contribute to a better life of us and others surrounding us. It is not necessarily that when we have big car, big house, successful career, it gonna be the happiest moment in our life, the reality is in our heart. We paint our own reality, we paint our own direction, we are smart human being, we are given brain to make choices and recognize which is good, which is bad.

Let us pray and pray that we always do the right thing everyday, every decision we made in life. Always refer to the All Knowing because He knows what is the best for us in the past, in the present and in the future.

Be grateful during the ups and be patience during the downs. May all of us will have tranquil heart throughout our life.

... and don't forget to take everything positively. It helps a lot in our decision making and attitude presentation.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

When I was browsing through video collections in TED Talk, I found a short speech by Laura Trice (Dr) suggesting that we should say thank you to the people around us.

"Thank You" is a just a simple phrase at which sometimes we took it for granted. It is actually a powerful phrase that might save your day, save your relationship, save your money, save yourself from trouble. Nevertheless it must come sincerely from the heart. I even come out with my own quote on this:

Sunday, January 31, 2010

I started to get addicted to hiking again. This weekend I went to Broga Hill for 2 days consecutively (Saturday and Sunday). Well .. on Saturday was a planned one and on Sunday was really sudden decision to bring my brother-in-law to go hike since I was overnight at my sis house in Kajang.

Up there at the 1st peak, there were TV3 crews interviewing few uncles. I overheard (not eavesdropping, ok!), one of the questions was "What motivate you to wake up early morning and go to hiking?"

My answer (in my heart) was, "Because I want to exercise and I feel relax when I'm bonding with the nature." :)

The truth is, hiking really give me some time-out from work, from problems, from issues in my head. At least spending time to look at the nature for 1-2 hours a week could provide new perspectives, new ideas, tranquil heart, fresh air, fresh mind, healthier life and to become more grateful to God.